How to Handle Students with Autism in a School Bus?

While arranging transport services for children with special needs you need to initiate an extra precaution, provide ample care and consideration to students, especially for those with autism. Parents rely on school bus authorities for providing an emotionally and physically safe environment for their adorable kids.

Even a little support and compassion from your side can create wonders in special need students. When adults understand, the nature of disability and mindset of a kid, it will be easier to teach them about the importance of school bus transportation.

The kids with autism will be easily agitated, and confused during the school bus trip. Due to this fear and confusion, it may result in troublesome and challenging behavior. For this reason, you can execute certain strategies that will be helpful for addressing the issues ofstudents with special needs.

What is the nature of autism?

Children with autism face difficulty in accepting and constituting social relationships. Too much sensory input and communication will be difficult for children suffering from autism. Furthermore, kids with autism act in a socially inappropriate, bizarre, or immature manner. Often, you may have heard people say, “He/she has no social skills”, “He/she is strange and “he/she done it purposely”, etc. Actually, the truth is that the child has autism.

How to teach them proper behavior?

Autistic kids may not possess pertinent skills that assist them to be successful in the society. Of course, a school bus and schools are indeed a part of society. Sometimes, your indifferent attitude to them can create uneasiness and depression in them. They may at times have certain perplexing questions in their mind such as “Why should I travel today also?”(as they board the school bus again), “What will happen if the driver lost the way?”, etc.

All you need is a little patience to teach them on a repertory of social skills and behaviors. You can teach them about how to establish a positive relationship with their fellow beings, how to avoid misconduct in a school bus, etc.

The following is a list of tips that can be useful for you in teaching autistic students:

Teach the student on observing the peer's or teacher's non-verbal behavior, what it indicates, and respond to it accordingly

Autistic students should compulsorily be taught about commencing a conversation with others, effectively develop the conversation (give and take), and how to politely wind up the conversation

You can inculcate in them the quality of social cognition, how to accept other's perception and recognise it properly. Tell them it may be challenging for you if you are not attempting to grasp others' perspective, and the world out there

Teach them about the “hidden curriculum” such how to handle an unfriendly situation, how to safely exit the bus, how to control their excitement while talking about their favourite subjects, or how to be flexible with the sudden route change or schedule changes

You should teach them about the usage of coarse idioms and metaphors. For example, if your colleague says, “See you later punk”, the child should understand that “punk” is an unpleasant word

Teach the appropriate bus riding skills: how to patiently wait in the queue, board the school bus, and apply the seat belts. Guide them how to appear an evacuation drill, the relevance of organizing it, wheelchairs on the school bus are acceptable, etc.

Academic and social skills: Know the difference between them

Suppose, a child has brilliant academic records (high scores in exams, competitions, extracurricular activities, etc.) but at the same time, they may lack social skills. This is the scenario of a child suffering from Asperger's syndrome or higher functioning autism. They may not have an awareness on providing privacy to others, bullying attitude of others, the other person dislikes you, etc. Meanwhile, even simple affairs such as building a positive relationship, understanding the complicated situations, etc. may be a difficult case for them.

Teachings based on the child's social failure

Observe them closely and recognise the social behavior that they are actually lacking from others. Sometimes the child may not have an understanding “my space” and “your space”, you can provide an awareness of it to the kid with sufficient patience, care and consideration. Sure, they will try to understand it.

In addition, teach them the difference between jokes and cruel taunts. Consequently, ask them to report to school authorities whenever they fall victim to any sort of teasing. And, ensure that they have an understanding of the disparity between general school bus safety rules and the rules in times of emergencies.

As a matter of fact, autistic students are never rude or ill-mannered, they are just special. Provide them a little concern and consideration, then surely, they can come out of their shell and become one of you. After all, they too deserve to travel along with you, sit beside you, and worthy of interaction.